by a long chalk
By far.
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by a long shot
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
by a long way
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
by all accounts
According to all available information or reports
by an eyelash
by a very small margin
by any means
using every possible method to achieve something
by any stretch of the imagination
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
by cock and pie
We meet with cock's bones, cock's wounds, cock's mother, cock's body, cock's passion, etc., where we can have no doubt that the word is a minced oath, and stands for God. The pie is the table or rule in the old Catholic office, showing how to find out the service for each day (from Med. Lat. pica).
by ear
To sing or play by ear rreans to sing or play without reading the musical notes, depending on the ear only.
by far
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
by feir means
Straightforwardly; without deception or compulsion.
by george
An exclamation similar to BY JOVE. The term is older than is frequently imagined—vide Bacchus and Venus (p. 117), 1737. "’Fore (or by) GEORGE, I’d knock him down." Originally in reference to Saint George, the patron saint of England, or possibly to the House of Hanover.
by golly
An ejaculation, or oath; a compromise for "by God." BY GUM is another oblique oath. In the United States, small boys are permitted by their guardians to say GOL DARN anything, but they are on no account allowed to commit the profanity of G--d d----n anything. A manner of "sailing close to the wind" which is objectionable to the honest mind.
by guess and by golly
by luck and intuition
by guess or by gosh
by chance or intuition
by halves
To do something incompletely or inadequately
by hand
done manually, not by machine
by hand
Without the aid of machinery or an intermediate agent. A letter "sent by hand" is one delivered by a personal messenger, not sent through the post. But a child "brought up by hand" is one reared on the bottle instead of being breast-fed.
by hook or crook
Either rightfully or wrong- fully; somehow; one way or another.
by jingo
An oath or exclamation having no particular meaning, and no positive etymology, though it is believed by some that JINGO is derived from the Basque jenco, the devil.
by long odds
By a great difference; as, "He is the best man by long odds." In horse-racing, odds are the ratio by which the amount staked by one party to a bet exceeds that of the other; hence long odds indicates a big variance in this ratio.
by means of something
Using something as a method or tool
by mistake
Unintentionally or accidentally
by no means
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
by no stretch
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
by no stretch of imagination
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
by no stretch of the imagination
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
by now
at the present time, considering what has happened before
by one and one
Singly, one at a time; en- tirely by oneself. He was one too many for me. He was a little bit too clever, he outwitted me.
by one's lights
According to one's own beliefs or values
by one's own hand
Done by oneself without help
by perseverance the snail reached the arc
English proverb; full definition pending editorial review.
by return of post
By the next mail in the opposite direction; originally the phrase re- ferred to the messenger, or "post" who brought the dispatch and would return with the answer.
by right
legitimately or justly
by the end of something
before something finishes
by the eye
done roughly or approximately
by the Grace of Allah
expressing thanks or acknowledgment of a higher power
by the Grace of God
Through good fortune or luck
by the moment
spontaneously, without planning
by the numbers
Following a set procedure or rules exactly
by the same token
Similarly, or for the same reason
by the score
In large numbers or quantities
by the way
Used to introduce a new topic or remark
by trade
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
by vice of
through a fault or defect
by virtue of
because of something
by word of mouth
Orally. As "he took it down by word of mouth" (as it was spoken by the speaker).
byblow
An illegitimate child.
bye
Goodbye.
Bye Plot
This was a plot hatched in 1603 by a Catholic priest, Watson, who worked up a number of Catholic gentry to secure the person of James I and force him to grant toleration to Catholics and Puritans. The plot was muddled and mismanaged from the outset, Watson was beheaded, his fellow conspirators were imprisoned or banished.
Byzantine Empire
The Eastern or Greek Empire, which lasted from the separation of the Eastern and Western Empires on the death of Theodosius m A.D. 395, till the capture of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453.
c'est magnifique
C'est magnifique, mats ce rfest pas la guerre.
ca ira
The name, and refrain, of a popular patriotic song in France which became the Carillon National of the French
ca' canny
A Scots expression meaning "go easily," "don't exert yourself," It is used in trade-union slang for working to rule, and is the method adopted by workmen for the pur- pose of bringing pressure on the employers when, in the workmen's opinion, a strike would be hardly justifiable, expedient, or possible. Ca' is Scots caw, to drive or impel.
ca-sa
A writ of capias ad satisfaciendam.—Legal slang.
cab
A brothel. Mother: how many tails have you in your cab? how many girls have you in your bawdy house?
cab
In statutory language, "a hackney carriage drawn by one horse." Abbreviated from the French CABRIOLET; originally meaning "a light low chaise." The wags of Paris playing upon the word (quasi cabri au lait) used to call a superior turn-out of the kind a cabri au crême. Our abbreviation, which certainly smacks of slang, has been stamped with the authority of the Legislature, and has been honoured by universal custom.
cabbage
Cloth, stuff, or silk purloined by laylors from their employers, which they deposit in a place called HELL, or their EYE: from the first, when taxed, with their knavery, they equivocally swear, that if they have taken any, they wish they may find it in HELL; or, alluding to the second, protest, that what they have over and above is not more than they could put in their EYE.--When the scrotum is relaxed or whiffled, it is said they will not cabbage.
cabbage
Pieces of cloth said to be purloined by tailors. Any small profits in the way of material.
cabbage-head
A soft-headed person.
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